Nintendo was already gettin' the new videogame craze started with the Nintendo Entertainment System, and Sega wanted to re-skin its new 8 bit computer (called the Sega Mark III) as a hit gaming console.
It had all the makings to be one, with some superior hardware and a sleek black-and-red case with matching accessories, but Nintendo already had a huge market share and exclusivity contracts with the major third party studios at the time. That was already rough, but not long after the Master System was released, the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16 in the States) hit the scene and blew 8 bit consoles away with its massive 16 bit improvements and hype. Instead of continuing that fight, Sega pretty much ditched their System and put full focus into their upcoming 16 bit console, the Mega Drive (Genesis).
Though the Master System wasn't hugely popular in North America and Europe, it absolutely destroyed any competition in a surprisingly passionate, brand new market: Brazil! Sega made sure the console and its games were sold at a much cheaper price than Nintendo there and secured a lot of deals that made Sega the household videogame name in the country for years and years to come.
One last note - You know Sega's handheld, the Game Gear? That was basically a portable Master System. The code of their respective games are practically interchangeable!
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Download Links
Archive.org's torrent feature often does not work, so please don't use it - Downloads can fail or be incomplete. If you're wanting to help preserve this set, you can use the links below to download each part you want instead:
What you came here for! Only the best stuff. (382 titles, 102.7 MB)
Games that are patched with improvements, enhancements, etc. (5 titles, 2 MB)
The rest of the games that require proficiency in other languages to play. (5 titles, 2 MB)
Non-games, add-on hardware emulation, and important software to back up. (5 items, 147 KB)
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Want to learn how I put my collections together, discover my other vintage content, or join the Retro Game Champion community on Discord, Twitch, and your socials? Head to retrogamechampion.com! I'd love to welcome you to the project.
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Updates
Jan. 18th, 2024: I removed a few dupes that got past my radar and replaced the original "Excellent Dizzy Collection" prototype with a more complete build. >>> To update your set if you downloaded it before this date: Completely delete the following titles: "Astro Adventure (TW)," "Battle Wings (Prototype)," "Blade Eagle (Prototype)," "Super Golf (Prototype)," and "Tecmo World Cup '92 (Prototype)." Finally, delete "The Excellent Dizzy Collection (Prototype)" and replace it with this updated file.
Champion Collection Release Notes
Special items included:
Unreleased titles, prototypes, English-patched translations, multipacks (mostly of 8 bit computer ports) that contain games not in the set, and titles not in English that are easy enough to play without being fluent in another language.
Items removed:
Non-working dumps, duplicates, prototypes or demos of games that eventually saw a full release, homebrew titles, multipacks that only included games already in the set, titles that require proficiency in another language to play, and hacks.
Additional information:
Tested with GenesisPlus (1.7.5.1)
Format: .sms
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11
